This invention relates to a method of checking the loading and unloading of a tanker having at least one tank provided with a metal connecting pipe adapted to be coupled via a coupling to one end of a hose having a coupling at two ends, which hose can be coupled to a metal connecting pipe of a storage tank.
In loading and unloading tankers, and in particular those having several compartments, which may or may not be filled or discharged through one and the same stub, it is of importance that, prior to loading or unloading, it is clearly established with which storage tank the tanker is connected via the hose. Furthermore, it is of importance that the correct compartment of the tanker is connected to a given storage tank.
As the filling of a tank or tank compartment of a tanker or a storage tank with a material not intended for that tank or that compartment may have very detrimental results, there is a need for a possibility of automatically checking whether the hose is connected to the correct storage tank and, possibly, to the correct compartment of the tanker during the loading and unloading of tankers.
The data that should be automatically collected concerns the question which compartment of the tanker is filled with which substance. Substance means in this connection fuels, such as petrol, dieseloil, etc., but also other liquids, or even powdered materials, which can be loaded and unloaded through a hose. The question which compartment is being filled or discharged, is answered by the position of the valves, which connect the stub to the compartments. This position of the valves can be read electromagnetically and subsequently supplied to the processor section of an electronic reader unit. The question with which material the compartment concerned is being filled is determined by the answer to the question to which storage tank the stub is connected through the hose. The stubs of the storage tanks are arranged next to each other, so that a choice must be made between a plurality of stubs for connecting the hose.